In honor of our new category of words or language or whatever we were going to call it I thought I would let you know of a couple new words that I’ve learned and I’m going to try and incorporate them into my everyday speech. Ready? Ok, First (and we can thank Max for telling me about these words) Mise en Place. Literally “putting in place” or “things in their place”. Its used in professional kitchens usually but it can be used anywhere! I’m using it while organizing random boxes, while doing laundry, and while driving and getting hit by a drunk driver! That guy was definitely not in his right place! Don’t worry, everything is ok except for my side mirror, which is also not mise en place.
Ok, second, QA. I know, its not exactly a word but it stands for Quality Assurance. I’m sure you could have guessed that. Some background – “Two key principles characterise QA: “fit for purpose” (the product should be suitable for the intended purpose) and “right first time” (mistakes should be eliminated).” Its definitely a foreign concept for me to do something right the first time. I’m more of a trial and error kind of girl. But I’m trying to change, really! I think I like it because it sounds like good slang too. Like, here are a couple examples where you could use it:
1) “I’ll be ready in a minute! I have to QA my face!”
2) “This customer service sucks, we need to QA right on outta here.”
I think the punctilious authorities might have a problem with me using it this way but luckily they don’t know where I live. Speaking of punctilious – another of my new favorite words! I learned it from reading this fabulous article which I’m sure you will find equally interesting considering your logophile tendencies.
Carmen 2:27 pm on October 9, 2009 Permalink
sweet!